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Although we're ready for 2024, we can't help but look back at the previous year when thinking about New York's much talked-about transportation system. After all, so many things happened on our buses, subways and trains, including the reopening of bathrooms underground and the arrival of dedicated stroller spaces on buses.
With all that in mind, the MTA has released its annual "By the Numbers" report, a deep dive into the top statistics of 2023 across a variety of categories based on data from January 1, 2023 through November 2023.
The highlighted figures are definitely interesting.
When looking at the subway system, the station with the most MetroCard swipes was Flushing-Main Street (6.3 million swipes). However, when focusing on OMNY taps, the title went to Grand Central-42nd Street—where the S, 4, 5, 6 and 7 trains stops—with 5.4 million taps.
74 St-Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave and 14 St-Union Square, on the other hand, were home to the most frequented bathrooms in the system.
As for the busiest subway line, that would be the 6 train, which, according to the official report, "is on track to carry approximately 140 million passengers for the year, more than the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad combined." (Data for that exact time period hasn't yet been released).
In the buses category, the M15/M15 SBS have officially carried most passengers in 2023, a total of 16.4 million riders to be precise. But the B6 is the bus that traveled the most miles (1.7 million!).
The report also highlighted figures associated with the Long Island Rail Road (Huntington/Port Jefferson was the branch with most ridership while Bayside boasted most city tickets sold) and the Metro-North Railroad (the Fordham station sold most city tickets but the New Haven Line had the most ridership).
As New Yorkers, we are wont to complain about our transportation system (or, well, about just about anything), but the report makes one thing clear: whether we love them or hate them, we rely on our subways, buses and trains every single day—so let's start showing some appreciation.